


Comminuted Fracture

by rlb190



Series: George O'Malley is not dead [4]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Blood, Blood and Injury, George O'Malley is not dead, Graphic Description, Interns & Internships, Levi is just a gay mess, M/M, Medical Procedures, Mildly Dubious Consent, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, VACCINATE YOUR KIDS YOU MORONS, but he could be so much more, i'm actually a doctor, it's a gay panic, nico kim is so perfect, vaccines are good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-09-27 02:38:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17153741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rlb190/pseuds/rlb190
Summary: An unexpected emergency brings all hands on deck to the hospital. Alex needs to deal with a rocky relationship with an old friend. Levi needs to figure out Nico Kim and his stupidly perfect face.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a continuation of my AU series. You don't have to read the whole thing if you're just here for the Levi/Nico stuff (i feel you. I do), but i'd recommend it.

        Alex Karev was just about to collapse into bed when his pager beeped. He groaned out loud. He had just worked his third 14 hour shift this week and was looking forwards to his day off. He had made plans for the whole day; he had a date with his bed and pillow, and maybe some microwaved leftovers. But all of that changed when his stupid pager beeped.

 

             _CODE YELLOW_

 

  Shit. A code yellow meant something big was happening. All the surgical staff and nurses are called back during a code yellow, the ORs will be rotating non-stop.

 

“Jesus.” Alex grumbled. He fumbled to the door of his apartment, yanked his shoes on, grabbed his bag and fled out the door. The drive the hospital was brief but nerve-wracking. Alex couldn’t help but wonder what had happened that dignified him being called in, everyone being called in. He got his answer he finally pulled into the parking lot and jogged into the ER.

* * *

 

      It was chaos. That was the best way to describe it. Everywhere, as far as the eye could see, there were people. People laying on gurneys and cots, people talking, people moaning and groaning, doctors and nurses running about, trying to maintain some sense of order.

 

Alex spotted Meredith in the masses of people, hair pulled back and face grim. She had a determined look in her eyes as she lent over a heavily bleeding woman. Her eyes gleamed in a way said ‘you’re not giving up on me just yet’. Mer looked up and briefly made eye contact with Alex before turning back to her duties. Alex saw Bailey a few paces away and waved at her, getting her attention.

 

“What happened?’

 

                Bailey threw off a pair of bloodied gloves, soaked through and ruined.

 

“Bridge collapse. Here, take them. O’Malley hasn’t shown up yet.”

 

                Bailey waved her now degloved hand at the three interns whom Alex had come to know. There was Glasses, the ever-anxious blood-fearing intern, standing next to him, struggling with a pair of gloves, was Taryn. Behind them, sort of lingering was Casey. Alex didn’t really like Taryn’s demeanor, she was too much like a younger Christina. And Glasses had a problem with being too timid to get this done. And Casey…

 

         Well actually, Alex didn’t really have any problems with Casey. He was cool.

 

“Bailey!”

 

    She turned on her heels to face him. “Nuh-uh Karev. Do not fight with me on this, not today. Take them until George shows up.”

 

As if to prove her point, she shoved a chart at Alex.

 

              “Here. teach them something.”

 

                Alex groaned internally but looked at the chart anyways, briefly, before snapping his fingers at the trio’s direction, motioning them to follow him. They did, eyes alert and sense attuned to the situation around them, despite the fatigue that came with being called in suddenly, especially after a long shift.

 

Alex walked to the sink to wash his hands, and spoke without looking up,

 

            “Okay kiddos, here’s teaching moment. When patients come in triage them. Put a color ID band, their name if you know it, and their biological gender. Red is 1st priority, yellow is second, green is 3rd, and black is dead. We have triage areas set up on the east and west sides of this hospital.  Someone explain the color-coded bands on these people’s wrists. What does red mean?”

 

 Taryn raised her hand and Alex nodded at her.

 

“Red bands are serious. They’re moved to the ER immediately.”

 

           “And what do we define as serious?”

 

“Uh, major hemorrhages, compound fractures, head injuries, crush injuries, shock, spinal injuries, smoke inhalation, uh, third degree burns?”

 

            “Good,” Alex dried his hands off, found a new pair of gloves and put them on. He began to walk across the crowded ER, filled with masses of people. The air was thick with the smell of iron-tinged blood.

 

“What does yellow mean? Glasses, here’s your shot.”

 

                 “Uh, it’s uh, delayed care!” Levi fumbled through the words, taken off guard, but he clearly knew the answer. “Includes closed fracture, limited burns, cranial trauma without loss of consciousness or shock, minor injuries.”

 

“Parker, that leaves green to you.”

 

              “Green bands will be in family medicine and the clinic. Minor injuries, cuts, burns, bruises.”

 

“Good.”

 

Alex finally found the bed where the chart dictated to him, but before he approached close enough to really get into things, he turned to face the three interns.

 

           “We are going to do our best to manage traffic, both on the street and in here. Everyone keeps their pagers on them. Pick someone, treat them the best you can, talk to me or another resident to schedule an OR. Let's keep these people alive.”

 

* * *

 

 

         Levi had his sleeves pushed up as he gently placed his patient's right ankle into a temporary splint. His patient, a forty something construction worker had been struck by three pieces of rebar at high velocity. From x-rays, Levi could tell he suffered a complex fracture of his right tibial plateau, a right humerus fracture, and an open right ankle fracture. He was a red band patient; the fractures poised a risk to his nervous system. If the fracture cut off the blood flow to the rest of his legs, there would be a serious risk of amputation. He was definitely going to need an orthopedic surgeon performed a surgery for his humerus, ankle, and knee. And Levi was not an orthopedic surgeon.

 The nurse who was helping him splint up his patient, Ruth, must have been thinking that as well because she nodded.

 

          “I’ll go call for on ortho consult. It might take a while to find someone.”

 

Before Levi could say anything, someone else spoke first.

 

        “I can help.”

 

Ruth and Levi turned around to face the owner of the voice. Nico Kim.

 

      _Oh no. Again?_

 

Levi was expecting Nico to be, well, Nico. Intimidating and well aware of it, a slight smirk on his stupidly perfect lips, a gleam in his stupidly perfect eyes that gave away his intent to tease Levi, but Nico was… tired.

 

          Instead of the well-put together man Levi knew, the man in front of him just looked exhausted. Frustrated. He wasn’t wearing scrubs today. Instead he was wearing a well-tailored dark blue suit with a white undershirt and black tie, which he was in the middle of loosening from his neck. He looked like he could have stepped out of a fashion magazine, but his expression betrayed him. His eyes seemed a little deflated, there were dark bags under them. He had creases on his forehead from frowning.

 

              He saw Levi and Ruth staring.

 

“I was on my way to court. I had to head back here.” Nico muttered in half-explanation. It seemed good enough for Ruth, who turned her attention back to the man on the bed, but Levi frowned.

 

         “Are you alright?”

 

“Better than your guy.” Nico nodded toward the bed as he slipped on a white doctor’s coat, not bothering to button it.

 

          But there was something missing. Levi could tell. Nico was avoiding the question. And as much as Nico Kim infuriated him, with his perfect abs and hair and smile, Levi still found apart of himself being worried.

 

“Nico-,”

 

        “Do you have the x-rays?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex deals with loss. Meredith makes some tough choices. Levi gets some good advice regarding Nico from a nurse.

The kid had walked in to the ER on his own two feet. He had walked into his mother’s room on his own two feet. He had a laceration on his forehead, but other than that he had seemed okay.

 

The key word being _seemed._

          From what information Alex had managed to get from the kid’s mother, he had been sitting in the backseat of their car, in his car seat, when the bridge had collapsed. They fell nearly 30 feet to the road below. The mother had broken her neck, but her kid walked into the ER on his own two feet.

 

Until he had started to complain of chest pain.

 

          Instantly, this had perked Alex’s attention. Kids weren’t always in tune to what they were feeling, and after a high-velocity impact, you couldn’t be too sure.

 

          Alex upgraded the kid from green to red. He was upgraded to a high-level trauma patient when he started to cough up blood.

 

         Casey had taken the kid to get a CT of his chest, which had showed a fractured sternum, three cracked ribs and most terrifyingly of all, blood in his chest and abdominal cavities and evidence of a still active arterial bleeding from the blood supply to the bowel.

 

          He had been initially stable at first when they took him in, but the arterial bleeding from the mesentery was too much. His blood pressure began to drop. Alex had transfused 1 unit of blood. Then 2, and 3, and then 4.  They had been struggling to repair the mesenteric laceration when his heart stopped.

 

That’s when Alex realized he had to make choice. If he spent too much time dealing with someone who didn't have much of a hope of surviving, someone else who _did_ have a good chance was loosing their opportunity. Alex resolved himself. He had to try, just a little longer. But longer wasn't going to happen. 

 

         Alex had worked on the kid for less than 30 minutes when he died.

 

He had 5 liters of blood in his abdomen.

 

* * *

 

      Meredith really hated days like today. Sure, there was a certain thrill to it, the rush of adrenaline that came with hundred of people all needing medical attention, lots of opportunities for practice. But... there was also a massive amount of stress, pressure to triage patients. You had to rapidly assess which patients are severely injured but salvageable. If she were to take too much time doing CPR on a guy with half his intestines on the floor or treating a minor laceration then you’re decreasing the chances of survival of the guy with a metal pole embedded in his stomach. Triage is an art form. You have to pick patients who have a decent shot of living with immediate attention.

 

But when it comes to these things, it gets messy.

 

        Right now, she was fixated on a man who had just been brought into her care. He had a gaping hole in his abdomen, but it was near his flank through to his back.

 

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Grey. I’ll be treating you today. I’m going to push on your stomach here, tell me how much it hurts on a scale of one to ten, okay?”

 

     The man, probably in his late 20’s nodded, his face streaked with what looked like smoke. Maybe his car had caught on fire?

 

_Focus, Mer._

 

Right.

 

When she prodded her abdomen, he winced but otherwise seemed fine.

 

“Three.”

 

        Meredith cataloged this into the back of her brain. Nearly pain free, soft to touch… a sign he was probably not serious injuries.

 

“Okay. I’m going to hand you over to a nurse who will register you in our system-,”

 

“Hey! Meredith!”

 

         Meredith looked up from her patient to see Taryn, the intern who had chosen her to follow around in a crisis, looking panicked but determined to get Meredith’s attention. Meredith obliged.

 

         Taryn was struggling to keep another guy in a wheelchair, who just had massive amounts of blood on him. He was nodding off heavily, clearly not aware of what was happening. Meredith waved down a nurse to her first patent, now at the back of her triage list while she threw off her gloves. She was jogging to Taryn, slipping on a fresh pair, when the man lent forward violent and started to spew chunks on the floor.

 

        Literal chunks. They looked like bloody, congealed slugs. Like some sort of demented jello cup. Just as Meredith was reaching Taryn and her spewing companion, the doors to the ER flew open again. There was someone straddling someone else’s pelvis, performing CPR.

 

Shit.

 

         Meredith glanced briefly at the man Taryn had. He also had holes in his abdomen, one by his belly button and one in his left flank. She briefly touched this guy’s abdomen, which was rigid. The man groaned in pain. The situation practically screamed peritonitis. One of his organs had ruptured. He was salvageable, but bad was happening inside him and Meredith very clearly needed to be there, but she also very clearly needed to see the third patient. Right now.

 

        “Taryn, take your guy to an OR and scrub in. I’ll be there soon! Hey-,” Meredith pointed at a nurse whose name escaped her. “Call the OR, tell them that she’s coming and then go with her.”

 

“Okay!”

 

          Taryn scrambled off, still struggling to keep the man in the wheelchair, the nurse she was with already getting on the line with the OR.

 

         Meredith ran over to the third man, and paused when she saw who was performing CPR on the patient.

 

_“George?”_

 

          George O’Malley looked up, not stopping CPR. When he was Meredith, he gave her a crooked grin, which was a side effect of the scars that littered his face. He was wearing a grey t-shirt that said ARMY in big block letters and dark navy-colored sweatpants.

 

“Hey Mer.”

 

Their friendly exchange ended there. They both went back into doctor mode. So, while George continued CPR, Meredith assessed the patient.

 

              Suddenly, a small figure popped out of nowhere. It was Dahlia, another intern. She also must have been unexpectedly called in, because she was wearing as purple blouse, a light pink headscarf, and a floor length skirt, which was now stained crimson with blood. She was panting, obviously having been doing CPR before George took her place.

 

           “George and I were at the same park across the street from the bridge collapse. I ran into him while we were there triaging people into ambulances.” Dahlia offered in explanation before going on,

 

“He has no pulse on his own, but I have no idea how long he’s been down.”

 

          Meredith tried to think about what she knew. She knew she had a patient waiting for her in the OR. And this guy in front of her had a 99% chance of dying.

 

          There came a terrible scream from the doors of the ER, where a woman was standing. She had a t-shirt wrapped around her forearm, and she was screaming. At Meredith.

 

Not just screaming. Pleading.

 

          “Please! That’s my husband, that’s my husband!” the woman was hysterical, out of breath as tears streamed down her face. “Help him!” Quickly, an orderly approached the woman, trying to get her to stop screaming.

 

Meredith groaned internally. The guy had a 100% chance of dying if she did nothing.

 

      “Damn it… Dahlia, call the OR! We’re heading there now. George?”

 

          George was sweating now, panting from the effort of keeping up CPR for so long, but he managed to give a small smile at Meredith. “I’m with you. Let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

         It took Meredith about 25 seconds to put on her gown, gloves, mask, and shoe covers. It took her about a minute to get into this guy’s chest. George was by her side, helping her. Meredith didn't want to admit it, but she didn’t really know what to do. Well, she knew that she was going to try a resuscitative thoracotomy. They were working on exposing his heart and lungs. But she didn’t know what to do. She had just had to do something, anything, to bring him back to life

 

         The millisecond they managed to crack open his chest, blood began to pour out of his chest. His entire blood volume. It poured over the operating table, rushing out of his body and onto Meredith, Dahlia, and George. Despite the foot covers, Meredith felt her feet squish wetly in her shoes. They felt warm.

 

The whole process took about 2 seconds.

 

         Meredith surveyed the man’s chest. A piece of metal had ripped through his lung, tearing a major artery. He had bled to death internally.

 

       George must have seen the look on Meredith’s face, because he put one gloved hand on hers. There was a sickening sound of blood squishing as he did so.

 

“Go. Dahlia will close. I’ll head back up to ER.”

 

          Meredith backed away from the corpse and took of her gloves and mask, dumping them into the medical waste bin. She still another man waiting in the OR next door. She steeled herself and walked out the door, the smell of iron still in her nose.

 

 

* * *

 

             The surgery had taken almost four hours. Nico, with Levi assisting, had repaired the broken bones one at time. It was done very roughly. Their patient would need several more surgeries to perfect things. Maybe two more on the complex fracture the right tibial plateau, definitely an external fixator. The right humerus fracture was an easy fix, but that open right ankle fracture had proved trickier than first thought. They didn’t have the time to perfect things, but Nico did insist on putting in some pins to keep things stable.

 

             Afterwards, they admitted him to the hospital, where he would wait to be scheduled for another operation or two.

 

          Right after Levi had closed up (triple checking to make sure he didn’t leave anything behind in the body), he had tried to talk to Nico, but he had jetted off to another OR, leaving Levi and his new nurse buddy, Ruth, to their own devices.

 

         Now, several hours after the initial Code Yellow, Levi was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall by the vending machines in a quiet hallway on the lower levels of the hospital. There was an old gurney on the wall, covered in discarded sheets. Levi kind of felt like those sheets right now.

 

Rumpled.

 

        He had his hands pressed into his eye sockets, the pressure relieving from the strain he was feeling behind them when he felt someone nudge his knee. He looked up, vision blurry. He quickly shoved his glasses on. It was Ruth, the nurse from before. She was holding a can of coffee in front of him, offering it. Levi took it gratefully, nodding in appreciation.

 

“Thanks.”

 

          “No problem.”

 

      Ruth popped the top of her own can and then slid down the wall to sit next to Levi. Her scrubs were rumbled and stained with god knows what. She looked as exhausted at Levi felt.

 

They quietly sipped their coffee before Ruth cleared her throat at him.

 

“So,”

 

      “So?”

 

“Dr. Kim, huh?”

 

         Levi sputtered, choking on his drink. Ruth helpfully patted his back as he struggled to find his breath. Composing himself, Levi adjusted his glasses.

 

“What-, what about him?”

 

         “You like him. Right?”

 

 Levi felt the blood rush to his face at her mention of Nico Kim.

 

  “Don’t you have kids to worry about?”

 

        Ruth snorted into her coffee can. “My husband dropped them off at a friend’s. You’re avoiding the question.”

 

“Really? Because I don’t think I’m avoiding anything.”

 

       Ruth rolled her eyes. “I’ve been at this job a long time, kid. I can tell when doctors have the hots for each other. It happens all the time.”

“But is it always gay?”

 

       “Huh,” Ruth crumpled her eyebrows together. You know now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen male doctors do the emotional tango. But that’s not that issue with you, is it?”

 

“No.”

 

 Levi moaned helplessly.

 

         “He’s just so-, he just-, with his stupid perfect smile and-,” he struggled to find the right words to describe Nico. “He’s so stubborn. He’s a mystery. I can’t tell if he’s actually flirting with me or if he just likes to mess with me. There’s so much I can’t figure out.”

 

Ruth nodded in agreement.

 

     “I can see that. But have you ever considered that maybe you don’t have to figure him out? He’s not a jigsaw puzzle, you know.”

 

Before Levi could consider this, a groggy voice rang out through the hallway.

 

     “I love those movies!”

 

     Levi and Ruth both jumped in surprise. The old gurney cover by sheets was apparently not only contained sheets, but also a person who had been buried to far under the sheets their form had blended into the gurney.

 

“Dr. Pierce!”

 

       Maggie smiled wearily at the two of them. “Hi.”

 

“What, uh, what are you doing?”

 

         Maggie’s hair looked frizzled, her eyes tired. Her entire spark of energy seemed drained as she rubbed her eyes halfheartedly.

 

        “Having a nap. The on-call rooms are full. Not eavesdropping, that’s for sure. But I do love those movies. Jigsaw? Saw? Those horror flicks?”

 

Ruth stifled a laugh and Levi fell even further into despair.

 

   “Not eavesdropping, sure.” Ruth smiled.

 

       “Right. So, I’m not going to say, for example,” Maggie struggled to untangle herself from the sheets, finally managing to pull herself off the gurney. She still had a sheet attached to her, which she picked up in well-practiced hands.

 

         “That maybe Nico likes you too and he’s pulling that whole ‘schoolyard’ thing where if a boy like you he messes with you because he’s too emotional compromised to know how to deal with them. And I’m also not going to say something like, oh, I don’t know,”

 

         Maggie took this moment to dramatically pause as she flung the white sheet in a which arch over her shoulders before tying them into place, like a cape.

 

         “Something like, maybe, that I overheard him talking to Link about how emotional constipated he is. About you. But I wasn’t eavesdropping. So, I wouldn’t say anything like that.”

 

“Oh.” Levi said softly.

 

   Ruth raised her eyebrows and hummed quietly in thought.

 

         “Anyways, I’m scheduled for a whipple. So, I must be going. Remember, I heard nothing. I’ve said nothing. Tootles!”

 

     With that, Maggie spun on her heels, the sheet fluttering behind her, and departed down the hallway.

 

It was quiet for a moment.

 

     “Did she just say tootles?” Levi asked Ruth. “Since when is she like that? I don’t she’s ever been like that. Is she high?”

 

       Ruth shrugged. “Probably just tired. Speaking of a whipple,” she crumpled her now empty can of coffee between her palms in swift movement before tossing it free-throw style into the recycling bin.

 

      “We should be getting back. Dr. O’Malley is going to be looking for you. And I have to keep doctors from killing people.”

 

Ruth stood up and brushed her hands on her pant legs. “Let’s go, Glasses.”

 

        Levi stood up as well, moving to drop his coffee can in the recycling bin, frowning.

 

“Does _everyone_ know about that?”

 

      “The nurses know everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Captain's Log:  
> I have finished my last shift for the week.  
> I'm so tired, I am now unable to sleep. For some reason.
> 
> why are we here? only to suffer?
> 
> End log.
> 
> kidding. Well, sort of. I did just finish a 16 hour shift. My hospital has to follow laws so they can't make me work longer than what i already have. They've given me a sock. I am free. Suck it.
> 
> I'd like to take the time out of my day to thank nurses. Some of my closet friends are nurses, and they don't deserve the shit (both literal and figurative) that comes their way. Nurses know so much, and they go through cycles of helping new doctors learn the ropes. They're awesome. I befriended a really cool surgical nurse when I was first starting, and let me say, they deserve to get paid like doctors. They work just as hard often for longer. And they often know way more about individuals than doctors. shout out to all my nurse homies out there. Y'all rock.
> 
> Kay i'm gonna go watch Days of our Lives now.
> 
> tootles,  
> rlb190
> 
> PS-  
> for some reason my end notes from the first chapter are spazzing out on me. I give some really good info on codes. SO if you see those notes, they belong to chapter one, cool.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time around. I've updated the total chapter count accordingly.

     Dr. O’Malley was exhausted. Not just tired. Or fatigued. This was deeper. He felt it in his very bones. He was exhausted. He felt as though no matter how much he would sleep, he would never feel anything other than this suffocating weight which he currently felt.

 

     They had gotten through the code yellow. It had taken almost 36 hours to triage all the patients, connect families to loved ones, notify others of deaths, and get everyone admitted and discharged as they needed.

 

     Now, in his current exhausted state, he stared at the ceiling in the on-call room. He had laid down nearly twenty minutes ago, but no matter how hard he wished his eyes just wouldn’t close. He had reached that level of exhausted when the idea of sleep was off-putting. He couldn’t settle down.

 

    He sighed to himself, trying to relax. When the code yellow had been called, he was at the park, jogging. Although it was terribly difficult for him to exercise in his prosthesis, it was something that he couldn’t not do. No matter if he was tired, or if it hurt. It was a deep seated need. He found himself twitching when he hadn’t gotten the chance to work out, like he was in withdrawal.

 

      It had been coincidence that he had been at the park with the bridge across the way collapsed, and even more a coincidence  when he saw one of his interns also at the scene. He was pretty impressed with the way Dahlia had dropped everything to assist the victims. She was dressed like a supermodel, hijab perfectly pinned stylishly, makeup simple but beautiful, skirt pressed and starched so primly even when she moved it didn’t wrinkle. George was pretty sure she had been on a date with someone. But as soon as the bridge collapsed and there were people in need, she had rushed over almost as fast as he did, leaving her companion in the dust. 

 

     By the time she had jumped on top of a patient being loading in ambulance to perform CPR, her headscarf was still pinned into place, but it’s delicate folds were now blobs of fabric. Her makeup was masked by soot and dirt which covered her face, probably from helping drag people out of their overturned cars . Her skirt was now dirtied, covered in bodily fluids and caked with a mixture of blood and dirt. But still, she had started CPR and ordered the ambulance to Grey-Sloan Memorial. George was pretty proud of her. She had really started to grow into herself as a doctor, and she was willing to sacrifice herself to help others. It was something the George could admire and relate to, but it was also dangerous. 

 

Dahlia was walking on the unsteady line between helping others and forgetting about herself.

 

     George shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts out of his mind. He closed his eyes and finally started to relax. He felt himself drifting, slowly but surely into the sweet abyss of sleep.

 

_     Bzzzzt Bzzzzzt! _

 

 “Damn it!”

 

     George sat up quickly from the bed and grabbed his pager. It was asking from him to go to CT. He briefly wondered what was going on as he slipped on his shoes, grabbed his white coat, and headed out the door.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a brief jog to the CT room, where he joined a few other people who were standing around a computer.

 

    It was Casey and Taryn, two of his other interns. George wondered where Dahlia and Levi were, but he figured Dahlia had gone home and Levi was probably in a corner somewhere being… Levi. Passed out somewhere, maybe?

 

Taryn spoke first, obviously excited.

 

     “Sorry to bother Dr. O’Malley, but you had to see this. It’s incredible!”

 

George looked to Casey, the more conservative of the duo who passed him a file folder with the patient's chart.

 

    “He’s in his 20’s. He was ejected when his car hit a tree. Blood pressure was okay, but his oxygen level was low. When I felt his chest, it _ crunched. _ ”

 

George nodded.

 

    “Okay, rib fractures, punctured lung. We put in a chest tube but Taryn-,”

 

“-felt we still needed to do a CT. Just in case.” Taryn finished for him. She moved out of the way so George could see the CT scan. When he saw what they were talking about, his jaw almost dropped. He raised his eyebrows at the scan

 

      He saw the man’s stomach and spleen.

 

In a chest CT.

 

“Those are _ not  _ supposed to be there!” Taryn exclaimed, excitedly.

 

George couldn’t do anything but nod in agreement.

 

    “He obviously has a ruptured diaphragm. It looks like his entire stomach and spleen are in his chest through the hole in his diaphragm. Maybe even bits of his colon”

 

“So?” Taryn asked.

 

    “So?” George responded. “Go call the OR and tell the, he’s coming in. Then the both of you scrub in.”

 

Taryn practically skipped out of there, Casey trailing behind her. George asked an orderly to take the man to the OR, and looked at the CT scan one last time.

 

       He wasn’t that exhausted anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the spring school season has kicked off, I’m going to be a little less frequent with updates, or make the chapters shorter. Which one sounds better? Longer chapters that take a hot second or more frequent, shorter chapters???
> 
> Here's the thing; I am a doctor (still can’t believe anyone would give me medical degree), but I started in trauma and moved to forensic pathology, so even though both trauma surgeons and forensic pathologists are doctors, their specializations are different. I finished a trauma internship and moved to residency before I quit, and then I had to go back to school to specialize (again) in forensic pathology.
> 
> I’m working at the same hospital, and I’m still a certified trauma surgeon (ATSS certified, at least for another year), but I’m still trying to finish my education on forensic pathology while I’m interning at the university hospital. But when we’re short on staff or when there’s an emergency I work trauma, and when it’s a normal day I work in the morgue, and during my days off and in the evenings I’m going to school to finish my education. I’ll be done (hopefully) by the summer and then I’ll take my board exams to become a resident pathologist. But for right now my writing time is gonna be spent at school or studying or… idk sleeping. Probably sleeping. 
> 
>  
> 
> Next time: Levi tries to talk to Nico. A familiar stranger arrives. I call in a favor from a college buddy to tell me about legal stuff.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi is having some low self-esteem. George makes a point. Vaccines are good for you. Nico is still hot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, posting chapter counts like a fool. It's gonna be longer. Also, I realize now that Lincoln should have been "Linc", but I'm honestly too lazy to change it at this point. So now he's "Link.". Okay, carry on.

Levi was trying to figure out a way to talk to Nico as he held the scalpel for Dr. O’Malley.

 

     Despite his new nurse friend’s encouragement and the information-not-received-from-Maggie, he still felt unsure of himself.

 

As George, Taryn, and Casey were leaning over the unconscious man on the operating table with organs where they weren’t supposed to be, Levi was busy thinking.

 

     He was mulling over way he could bring something, anything, up with Nico.  Should he call him Nico? Maybe he should just call him Dr. Kim. Was Nico too informal? Was Dr. Kim too formal?

 

“Levi?”

 

    “Huh?”

 

Levi looked up from the spot on the floor he had been staring at. George was looking at him curiously, like he knew that Levi was thinking about. Or maybe he related to it?

 

    “Can you finish the sutures down there in his colon?”

 

“Oh- yeah! Sure.”

 

     Levi put the scalpel down and picked up the suturing needle and the needle holder and got to work threading and stitching. George, Taryn, and Casey had all worked diligently to pull the things that weren’t supposed to be in his chest out of his chest and were now trying to fix the 14cm hole in the poor guy’s diaphragm. Actually, Taryn and Casey seemed to be fixing the hole, George was removing the guy’s bleeding spleen.

 

    Levi looked down the the lacerations in the colon. There were only two, small enough to require maybe five or six sutures in each. Levi made quick work of the lacerations, the repetitive movement of suturing a little comforting to him. Light classical music played through the operating room. Levi suddenly felt at ease for what felt like the first time in days. But the moment lasted only, well, a moment.

 

“Okay,” George said, sort of stepping back and examine his work. “How’s the diaphragm?”

 

    “All done, boss.” Taryn said.

 

“Colon?”

 

    “Repaired.”

 

“Alright. The consult should be here soon. Let’s keep him alive until then, okay?”

 

     Levi blinked. “Wait, consult?”

 

Casey glanced over Levi over his surgical mask. “Dude, George called him in like ten minutes ago. For the flail?”

 

     Levi looked down at the guy’s ribs. Flail chest injuries were defined as fracture of at least three consecutive ribs in at least two locations each, where paradoxical inward movement of the flail segment in inspiration is found. The consult would probably be for the possibility of the placement of  titanium plates to stabilize the fractured ribs while they healed. The plates held the ribs in their correct anatomic location. They would have to put the plates and close the sternum up with plates as well. 

 

The consult were for the ribs. Which were bones. Which meant it was an ortho consult.

 

_ No. No. no! Not again! _

 

As if on cue, the doors to the operating room opened. Standing there, gloves on, was… not Nico Kim. It was Link.

 

       Levi felt relief wash over him. 

 

_ Thank God! _   
  


“You called?” Link asked George, winking at him. George nodded.

 

       “Take a look, Dr. Lincoln.  Think we can get away with just the plates?”

 

Levi felt relief wash over him. He didn’t know what he would do if it had been Nico. Dr. Kim? Whatever. 

 

      Link studied the chest cavity for a moment, poked around, and did whatever it was that he did to get an answer and nodded.

 

“I think we can put six plate in to hold those ribs in place. He’s gonna need to be in the ICU as soon as it’s done, though.”

 

George considered this and sighed.

 

     “He’ll need aggressive pain management.”

 

“Epidural analgesia most likely. Then ventilation and tracheostomy  until fibrous stabilization.”

 

      “You’re going to keep him on ventilation until the ribs have partially healed? That could lead to pneumonia or sepsis. Why have him on ventilation after the plates. You could try even something like intramedullary devices or vertical bridging.”

 

      Levi silently cursed himself. The words had come out of his mouth before he could stop them. He expected George to sharply reprimand him for protesting against his decision. As nice as he was, George was still his boss, and bosses (in Levi’s experience) didn’t like being questioned. 

 

Unexpectedly, George seemed to smile under his mask, his eyes crinkling around the corners.

 

      “Good idea, Levi. But flail chest injuries are associated with a mortality rate of up to 36 percent. If we leave them be, the injuries could develop paradoxical inward movement of the flail segment which prevents effective inspiration. Prolonged mechanical ventilation will let his ribs heal with less stress. We have to weigh his other injuries as well.”

 

“Oh.”

 

      George turned back to the others in the operating room.

 

“Okay. Taryn, go ask permission from his next of kin. You need some more experience talking to patients and then come back to assist. Casey, stay here and assist. Make sure to close him up afterwards. Don’t leave anything behind. Levi-,”

 

     Levi looked up from his blood-stained gloves which he had been examining.

 

“Go get some sleep in the on-call room. You look exhausted. How long have you been here?”

 

       Levi tried to think back. It had taken nearly 36 hours to triage everyone who had come in, and he had already been on-call for a few hours before the fact, and this surgery had taken six hours…

 

“Uh, 49 hours?”

 

     “Jesus!” Taryn exclaimed loudly. “Even Casey went home for an hour.”

 

Link nodded in agreement. “Go lay down, Levi. Get a couple of hours before getting back in the game.”

 

      “But I can stay and close-,”

 

 “No, Levi. You might make a mistake when you’ve been working for so long. I’m going back anyways to sleep also.”

 

      Levi reluctantly stripped off his gloves and tossed them into the medical waste bin, George was behind him, effectively blocking him off from going anywhere but forwards, out the operating room.

 

      Levi didn’t know why he was so intent on staying. But maybe he did. He didn’t think he had done enough. He hadn’t done enough. There was still things to do, lives to save, he couldn't just leave. He couldn’t sleep. Not when he could be doing more. He should be doing more.

 

Levi scowled as he took off his mask, shoes covers, and gown. He scrubbed his hands mutely in silent protest. George didn’t seem to mind.

 

      It wasn’t long until they had reached the on-call room. It was empty of people, only a few sets of bunk beds and low orange light occupied it.

 

Levi stared at the beds in distaste. His fingers twitched. There was still so much to do. He wasn't’ tired, really. He could keep going. He could still do something. Anything.

 

       George sat down on a lower bunk. Levi unhappily sat down on the bed adjacent to George’s. Neither of them lied down. They stared at each other.

 

Levi never had a problem looking George in the eye. Despite the scars that littered George’s face, neck, and hands, George’s eyes were still… human. The scars kind of freaked him out, but George’s eyes… he understood.

 

       “You need to sleep, Levi.”

 

“I can sleep when I’m dead.”

 

       George didn’t react to Levi’s mutterings. Once again, he was a puzzle. Levi couldn’t figure him out, not really, anyways.

 

“Are you afraid to go to sleep?”

 

      Levi paused. That was a question he hadn’t been expected.

 

“I-, no. I mean, a little. There’s just-,” Levi shook his head. “There’s so much going on out there. I could help. I know I can. People are out there, dying. Why do I get to lay here and take a break when I could be out there?”

 

     George nodded, as if he understood. Levi had been getting the whole ‘I understand’ line his whole life, but for once it seemed like someone really did. Not in the exact same way, but closely.

 

“I know it feels like the whole world is on your shoulders. There’s things you wish you could do. Things you think you can do. Things you should have done,” George got this far-away look in his eyes that Levi couldn’t quite place.

 

      “Look, Levi. You’re a good doctor, and an even better guy. But you can’t do your best and help as many people when you’re not taking care of yourself. How can you take care of others when you aren’t yourself?”

 

Well, shit. He had a point.

 

       “You’re not going to stop being a doctor just because you sleep for a couple of hours. You want to help people, and that’s something no one can take away, not even sleep.”

 

Levi looked down at the floor.

 

      “Nico Kim will still be around to tease you in a few hours.”

 

Levi felt panic bubble in his throat, and he straightened, suddenly alert.

 

      “Oh, well, I-, I just-,”

 

George smiled kindly. “Relax, Levi. I’m pretty sure he likes you too. It’s pretty obvious. Let me give you advice; if you spend your life dancing around something, you’ll never get to it. Take that chance.”

 

     George looked like he was about to say something more, but his pager beeped. He looked down at it and sighed. “Duty calls. Stay here, okay? Get some rest. Then you can take on the world.”]

 

George left Levi alone in the room.

 

       Levi lay down on the bed and stared at the bottom of the bunk above him. He counted silently to 1000 before sitting up, putting on his shoes, and walking out the door.

 

* * *

     Hoping to avoid George and any other interns or surgical staff who might bust him, Levi made his way to the clinic.

 

     The clinic, officially named the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic, was a free clinic that had been established to allow people who have problems seen early and catch serious disease early, such as cancer. Currently it was supervised by bailey, But Levi correctly assumed that he had other issues to worry about. It was only open on Wednesdays and Fridays, but the second Thursday of every month was vaccination day.

 

      Levi was sure that no one would come to the clinic and catch him working when he wasn’t supposed to. None of the surgical residents or staff wanted to go there and work on non-surgical patients, but Levi didn’t really mind. There wasn’t as much blood to deal with, just single parents taking their kids to get a cough looked at or sometimes the homeless who needed to get checked out.

 

Levi snuck in quietly to the clinic with no issue. He considered himself lucky that it was Friday as he walked up to the front desk where a pretty looking young nurse with short red hair was sitting. She looked at him expectantly.

 

      “Bailey sent me here?”

 

The nurse smiled widely. “Oh, wonderful! I know it’s so busy over there, it’s great that you’re here. We’re a little backed up.”

 

      It was as simple as that. She checked Levi’s credentials to make sure he was a doctor (Which he was), and then gave Levi a clipboard.

 

Levi spent the next three hours working there. It was kind of nice, actually. There was a steady stream of people to deal with, and seemed to be one of the only doctors there, the rest being nurses and nurse practitioners. 

 

     The cases were pretty mild compared to everything going on in the actual hospital. Levi gave a physical to a teenage boy that he needed to play lacrosse for school and diagnosed the flu in another kid. A homeless woman came in with a sinus infection for which Levi gave antibiotics. A young college student came in with a sprained ankle for which Levi sent him home on crutches.

 

       The best part of it was when a young mother came in with two small children, twins, who were no more than five who needed to get their second dose of the MMR vaccine. The mother had been trying to gently coax the twins into getting their vaccines without much success when suddenly the young girl who was sitting on the table thrust her tiny arm out at Levi who was holding the needle, tears streaking down her face. Levi quickly injected her and the girl sat there silently, biting her lip with her eyes closed. When he was done, the girl opened her eyes, surprised.

 

“You did it already?”

 

     “Yes ma'am.”

 

The girl looked astonished and coached her brother the same way. Levi gave them both superhero band-aids and some lollipops. 

 

    As he was finishing the paperwork to hand to the mother, she gazed at her kids happily pointing out the various superheroes on their band aids.

 

“I think we can learn a thing or two about bravery, huh?”

 

      Levi smiled as he handed her the paperwork.

 

“You know, I think we can.”

 

      Levi had just finished putting some paperwork in a file when his pager beeped. He looked down at it. It was summoning him to the ER.

 

He apologetically handed the file to the nurse at the front desk.

 

      “I have to go.”

 

The nurse smiled prettily.

 

     “It’s alright, Doctor. Thanks for coming out. I think the patients really liked you. Come by next week?”

 

Levi nodded. “If I can find the space.”

 

      The nurse rolled her eyes. “No one ever does.”

 

“I will.”

 

    With that, he walked out of the clinic and back into the ER.

 

* * *

      Meredith was waiting for him in the ER when he walked up. She looked tired, almost weary. She had been here for almost as long as he had. Upon seeing Meredith, Levi suddenly felt just how tired he was. There was something in the pit of his stomach that wasn’t quite nausea, but not nothing either. World seemed a little blurry, even though he was wearing his glasses. He began to feel warm.

 

     “Levi, good. We’re swamped here. Let’s get some of these people of of here. I’ve got five patients who insist on getting looked at by a surgical- are you alright?”

 

Before Levi could answer, there came a shout from behind them “Hey!”, by the nurse’s station. Levi he jumped at the noise, but quickly attempted to regain his composure as he and Meredith began to walk closer to the commotion.

 

     There was an older gentleman, maybe in his 60’s, but Levi couldn’t be sure. He was Asian, tall, and mildly good looking with salt and pepper hair. He was dressed well in a three piece suit, but something about the way it lay on him made Levi suspect it wasn’t something he was used to wearing it. Dr. Lincoln seemed to have been the source of the noise, and he was staring furiously at the older man, arms crossing, muscles tensed.

 

“Where is he?” the old man asked.

 

     Link looked furious. Angrier than angry.

 

“You can’t be here. You cannot be here,” Link looked over at the nurse’s station where a nurse was standing by the desk, one hand already on the phone, ready to call security, “Can you call the police? This man is legally not allowed to be here.”

 

     The nurse didn’t miss a beat, and picked up the phone, putting up to her ear.

 

“I have the right to see my son.”

 

     “He has a restraining order! 300 feet.”

 

“Not anymore he doesn’t.”

 

     The man promptly pulled a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Link. Link quickly scanned the paper and went pale.

 

“It expired two days ago. My son didn’t show up in court.”

 

     “He sent his lawyer-,”   


 

“Doesn’t matter. He had to be present or the order would expire. And guess who didn’t show up?”

 

     Link seemed to get flustered at that, but didn’t waiver.

 

“There was an emergency, how could the judge even think to-,”

 

     “Dad?”

 

This time Link, the old man, Levi, the nurse, and Meredith turned to look to the origin of the voice. Standing there in dirty scrubs, hair messily pushed away from his face was Nico Kim.

 

_ Well. The day just got much more interesting. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay, I'm alive! Huzzah. I was gonna make this chapter three smaller ones, but then I figured 'what the heck'. I'm on vacation! hahahahaha! But tell me what you think though. I wanna know.
> 
> Okay, vacation is a strong word. I went home (which is like an eight hour drive) for this weekend to get my dad's help to do my taxes. I'm a doctor but I still can't do taxes. go figure. So here I sit, heavily caffeinated, the family cat by my side with no worries until my drive. I'm loving life. There's a high school musical 2 re-run playing nearby to keep my company in my writing. y'all, I don't dance is soooo gay. So gay. I need more Chad/Ryan fan fiction. Please leave me a good rec in the comments lol. What a throwback!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this update! We're finally getting into the meat and potatoes of the story (so to speak). So... Nico Kim is still a mystery to be solved. How interesting... hmmm...
> 
> Let me just say, I've taken some liberties here regarding Levi's hours. He would be KICKED OUT of the hospital by now. I've worked some really long days, but after a 49 hour work day, my boss sent me home or risk my job. I wasn't complaining. But the whole 'not working hard enough' thing is common among doctors. I saw it in med school a bunch. There's a lot of type-a high achievers who work nonstop and never know when to chill. They just work and work, because this career is everything, and it develops into this It's sort of survior's guilt, if that makes any sense. You've spent 70 minutes doing CPR on a young twenty something gunshot victim and you've just called time of death and you sit there and think 'why this guy? Why am I here, saving lives when this guy is dead?" It sucks, but it's that sort of culture. Being a doctor sucks. It's really rewarding, but it sucks sometimes. A lot.
> 
> Ah, well. I'm just gonna pet my cat and watch high school musical 2. I've nailed my practice board exams, so I think I deserve a little high school musical. Stay healthy, friends!
> 
> Best regards,  
> rlb190
> 
> oh, wait. LET ME JUST SAY before i go, get yourself vaccinated! Hot damn, granola parents. People ate 100% organic in the middle ages and everyone still died of smallpox. Vaccines cause adults. Not autism.
> 
> I'm just gonna stop here before I get into a huge rant but MEASLES ARE BAD AND VACCINATE YOUR KIDS YOU FOOLS
> 
> Lordy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi stands up for someone else. Nico and Levi go into a closet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not dead! But man, it feels like it. here we go. Shorter chapter, quicker update. one chapter left (?)

 

“Dad?”

 

     Nico Kim stood there in the middle of the hallway, looking stunned. He wiped his hands on his pants, which looked stained with blood and something that looked suspiciously like puke.

 

The older man, Nico’s father, turned around to face him. He smiled, the action not quite reaching his eyes.

 

      “Hello Nico.”

 

Nico’s father took a step towards him. Nico took a step back.

 

“You shouldn’t be here.”

 

     Nico’s father didn’t break his mask of calm. “You didn’t show up in court. The judge decided the order should expire.”

 

Nico swallowed, hard.

 

      “Lydia wouldn’t have let that happen.”

 

“Your lawyer did try her best. But in the end, the judge sided with me.”

 

      Levi looked nervously between all the people the the hallway. The nurse still had the phone receiver up to her ear, fingers poised over the numbered keys. Nico was staring at his father across from him, Link had his fists clenched tightly by his sides, in the middle of the two. Meredith was leaning forward a little bit keenly, as if she was about ready to pounce on the situation. The tension was so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife.

 

 “You need to leave.”

 

This time, everyone turned to look at Levi. Small, pathetic, dorky Levi who hadn’t slept in 51 hours.

 

     “Excuse me?” Nico’s father asked, his eyes narrowing but smile not quite leaving his face, like a mask of pleasantries that hid something much more dangerous underneath.

“You need to leave. Now.”

 

_ Oh God, what was he doing? _

 

     “I have the right to see my son.”

 

     “You may have the right to see Dr. Kim, but not here. This is a place of healing, and you’re keeping these doctors and nurses from doing their jobs. So you need to leave. Now. Or we’ll call security and have you escorted off the property.”

 

     This ultimatum seemed to break the spell that had kept all them all glued to their spots. Link put himself between between Nico and the older man, crossing his arms intimidatingly. Meredith also crossed her arms and shot Nico’s father a look so sharp Levi remembered some horror stories from her old interns who had called her ‘Medusa’. 

 

The older man looked at Levi for a moment before turning back to Link and his son. He smiled once again and nodded.

 

     “Very well. I’ll see you later, son.”

 

Nico’s father gave one last look at Nico before turning on his heels and walking away down the hallway. Everyone watched him until he turned a corner and disappeared from view.

 

* * *

 

Levi quickly trailed behind Nico, the other doctor walking swiftly.

 

     “Nico!”

 

Nico didn’t answer, instead he turned to look at Levi, something akin to panic in his eyes.

 

     Levi stopped in his tracks and watched as Nico took a sharp right into a supply closet. Levi bolted after him, stopping the door with his foot before Nico could shut it behind him. He shoved himself in the closet and let the door slams shut behind him.

 

Nico was facing away from Levi, not letting him see his face.

 

     “Levi, can you please just-, damn it!”

 

Nico punched the wall in frustration, making Levi jump.

 

     “Who was that guy?”

 

Nico didn’t move his fist from the place he had punched in the wall.

 

     “My father. Shit. I knew-,” Nico finally put his hand down by his side, still not facing Levi. His voice sounded odd. Hoarse.

 

“I was on my way to the hearing when I got paged at the bridge collapse. I thought maybe I could sent my lawyer and come in and everything would be alright…”

 

     Levi didn’t know why Nico had a protective order against his father. He had some ideas, but that really wasn’t important now. There was a slight buzzing in his ears as he gently slid his hand over Nico’s, the one that had punched the wall. Nico’s knuckles were bright red, and Levi rubbed a comforting thumb over them.

 

“We can figure this out, Nico.”

 

     Nico turned around to face Levi, his face a mask of despair. He looked so young at that moment, eyes troubled with worry and fear. He reminded Levi of a kid who had just seen his first horror movie. Nico frowned.

 

“You shouldn’t have gotten involved, Levi. You’re going to get hurt. I just need-,” Nico trailed off, eyes glazing over as he thought of a million different things all at once.

 

     “You’ll think of something. It’ll be okay.”

 

Levi put his hands on Nico’s shoulders. Beneath his stained scrubs, Levi could feel him tense. 

 

     Levi looked up at Nico, tilting his head so he could really look him in the eye, not any easy feat considering their height difference and Levi’s timidness. But Levi didn’t have time for being timid. Not now, not when it came to something-, someone, like this.

 

Levi gazed into Nico’s worried face with conviction.

 

     “Nobody’s going to hurt me, Nico. Or anyone else, not Link or George or Alex, no one, and he’s not going to hurt you again, either. You’re safe now. Get it?’

 

     Levi wasn’t sure at first if Nico believed him, despite the fact that Levi had never been so sure about anything before in quite a long time. At first Nico didn’t react, but after a few tense heartbeats his expression softened, turning from belligerent anxiety to a type of affectionate sadness.

 

     “Levi-, you shouldn’t have gotten involved. You should have never…” Nico trailed off, not breaking their locked gazes on one another. He was looking at Levi with this type of wistful yearning that made Levi’s heart want to break into a million little pieces.

 

    “You always try so hard,” Levi murmured quietly, and suddenly he became very aware of how close they were, how close Nico was. “Nico, I-,”

 

    The word caught in his throat when suddenly Nico’s arms came up and around him, resting on his waist, holding him tight. Levi didn’t move away, and Nico bent his head and softly touched his lips to Levi’s.

 

     It wasn’t anything that Levi had been expecting, but it was really nice. He closed his eyes, enjoying it. There was a certain chaste sweetness to the kiss, the simple, gentlest touch of lip to lip that made Levi dizzy and warm all over.

 

He was really dizzy. And warm. And his skin felt clammy. And the world was kind of tilting.

 

     Wait.

 

_ Oh no. _

 

Levi broke away from the kiss hesitantly. He blinked a couple of times and tried to steady himself on Nico’s shoulders.

 

     “Levi?’

 

Levi tried to shake away the feeling, but it didn’t leave.

 

_     Oh great, way to ruin a moment, Glasses! _

 

“Okay, don’t take this the wrong way but I thinkkkk….”

 

      Levi felt his knees give out under him. This wasn’t like any time he had fainted before, when it was one second awake and the next on the floor. He just went weak in the knees, no longer able to stand or support himself.

 

He felt himself tilting over to one side, the world still spinning around him as he did so. Despite the fact he was wearing his glasses, the world looked blurry.

 

     His shoulder made contact with Nico’s chest, and Levi barely registered strong arms supporting him, guiding him gently to the floor. Levi was sort of aware of what was going on, but not really. It was like the world was spinning and tilting. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. But he was okay, right?

 

He was just very warm. And so very tired.

 

     He vaguely heard Nico call for help, but it sounded like he was speaking through cotton. Levi closed his eyes, briefly, but he felt a warm hand on his cheek, urging him to stay awake just a little longer.

 

     People and things moved in and out of focus, like blurs. The dim lighting of the supply closet was too bright, everywhere he looked it was like someone had turned a camera exposure up to a billion. Dark spots freckled his eyesight.

 

     Levi felt hands moving over him and a sharp prick in his arm. Despite the urging to stay awake, he couldn’t bear to keep his eyes open any longer. He closed them and felt the sweet, sweet relief of sleep, finally, when he did so.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay. Nico and levi kissed. and then levi passed out.. maybe he was swooning lol. You can't pass out from lack of sleep, btw. Not like how levi did. But hey, I'm taking some creative liberties here.
> 
> I recently I got a call from one of my friends who is working as an EMT. There was a 32 car pile. 32 cars. Only nine people got injured enough that they were admitted (?) but 50+ people had to be evaluated. Can you imagine? 50+ people involved in a car wreck. We’re lucky no one died!! Just a friendly reminder to be extra careful when visibility is low when driving. I thought I’d just put that down here. Stay safe out there, folks.
> 
>  
> 
> hey, also. a quick rant. Vaccinate your damn kids you morons. A guy who I went to med school with is working in an area where there's a measles outbreak. People don't realize how dangerous and deadly measles can be because they were all vaccinated and they haven't seen it's horrific effects. I was working in Turkey awhile back, and I've seen what kind of damage sicknesses like the measles can do. it's terrible. You're making things dangerous for people who can't get vaccinated, and you're making things dangerous for your kids. Hot damn. Vaccines don't cause autism, and if they did (which they don't!), you'd rather have a dead kid than an autistic one. Great. It makes me furious. You're not just affecting you kid, but others as well. The WHO (world health organization) said that anti-vaxxers are a health threat, and I couldn't agree more.
> 
> Get vaccinated.


	6. not a chapter, just an update

Hello everyone, sorry this isn't a chapter, it's a quick little update! I really do love writing these stories, and I will for sure get them done (my two main ones, the Shadowhunters and Grey's), but it won't be for a hot second. I went through a crisis and low and behold I volunteered with Doctors Without Borders and now I'm going to Tanzania to assist workers dealing with malaria outbreaks in refugee camps.

 

yeah, i know.

 

Anyways, I'm going to be working in the refugee camps and in Nyarugusu, which is a city where a 40-bed emergency room is. I'm still going to be getting my pathology degree with credit served and I'll be take to take my residency exams in the summer, but for now I leave in 2-ish weeks for the months of march and April. Normally you need to commit for 9-12 months but since I'll be doing surgery I'm only gonna be there like six weeks. It's a good thing I took french in college!

 

My point is, I'm going to try and squeeze in a few updates before I leave, but after that I'm going to have very limited access to computers and the internet so chances are slim to get an update until... April? that is of course if I get malaria or something and get sent home early. But let's hope not.

 

Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the story so far! This isn't the end, just a little break.

 

Love,

rlb190


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you enjoy! If you're curious to why I'm updating so soon, read the end notes! :)

      When Levi woke up for the first time, he didn’t open his eyes. He had barely registered himself as being awake, at least at first. He felt tired, way more tired than he’s ever been in a long time, he didn’t even think he had been this tired when he had been in med school, even when he had been cramming for exams for three days straight.

 

     So he didn’t open his eyes, but he did try to pay attention to what he was feeling and the things he was hearing. There was a soft beeping noise somewhere to the the far right, some chattering from further in front of him. It was pretty quiet. It smelled like the hospital, at least.  So that’s where he was.

 

     He tried to focus on what he was feeling. Under him, he registered the vaguely stiff and uncomfortable hospital-grade mattress. He twitched his fingers slightly. He felt the oxygen clip on his finger. He also felt something wrapped around his left upper arm, a blood pressure cuff, probably. He gently flexed his right forearm and felt what was most likely an IV.

 

Okay, cool, he was in the hospital and not dead. That was always a bonus.

 

     He didn’t bother opening his eyes when he heard some distance footsteps approaching his room. He listened as some things clattered around, someone gently messing with his IV, some light tapping and some scribbling noises. He head hurt, and he was just so very tired.

 

He soon drifted back into sleep.

* * *

 

     The second time he woke up, he actually opened his eyes. He had to blink a few times, sightly unaware of where we was, until heard heard a slight beeping and he realized he was in the hospital. His vision was blurry, but that must have been because he didn’t have his glasses on.

 

He blinked a couple more times and moved a little bit, trying to sit up. His body groaned in protest, not wanting to be moved from its position of sleep.

 

    “Take it easy, kid.”

 

    Levi felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn’t even been aware that someone was in the room with him.  The person handed him his glasses, which he shoved onto his face. He focused on the figure in the room.  It was Ruth, the nurse from before, who had sat with him in the tunnels. Her black hair was pinned back from her face, and she smiled a little smugly at him.

 

“You’re in _so_ much trouble."

 

      Levi groaned.

 

 “How much trouble?”

 

    Ruth shrugged halfheartedly. “A bunch. But they’ll probably take it easy on you cause you freaked everyone out. You confronted Dr. Kim’s father and then word spreads you collapse? Everyone thought you must have gotten beat up or something, not just fainted while with Dr. Kim.”

 

_Oh no. Nico!_

 

     Levi put his head in his hands, face burning with embarrassment as he recalled their kiss. Things had been so awesome, and then he had to go and ruin it!

 

“Oh man, does everyone know?”

 

     Ruth was clearly enjoying this fact and she smirked at Levi.

 

“The nurses do. The nurses know everything. I’ll go get your doctor.”

 

     Before Levi could do anything, Ruth disappeared out the door, leaving him alone with the beeping machines. A feeling of dread washed over him-, not only was he about to be chewed out for not going home, he had totally embarrassed himself in front of Nico. After confronting his father. He fainted while kissing him. Who does that?

 

Levi sat up in the bed with some effort and moved the bed from a flat to slightly inclined position, allowing him to lean back without completely laying down.

 

     He heard footsteps and Ruth walked back in, followed by George. Levi’s heart dropped into is stomach.

 

O’Malley looked stern as he walked in, holding a file with his arms crossed.

 

     “Thank you, Ruth.”

 

     Ruth nodded and backed off, heading toward the door, giving Levi a pitying look as she did. She may have enjoyed watching Levi squirm, but no one liked being reprimanded, especially not by heavily scarred and very dangerous trauma surgeon.

 

George waited until Ruth had left before turning to face Levi.  Levi squirmed under his direct gaze. It was painfully quiet for a moment before he spoke,

 

     “I told you if you weren’t going to go home, you should lay down.”

 

Levi nodded, not wanting to say anything.

 

     “And instead, you waited until the coast was clear and worked in the clinic, risking the quality of care due to your fatigue.”

 

His voice could freeze water. Levi looked down at the sheets, not meeting his eyes.

 

       “Then you confronted someone who could have been a security threat despite your inability to physically act, and then you collapsed in a closet.”

 

Levi was silent.

 

      "Answer me.”

 

Levi’s heart skipped a beat, but he still didn’t look up at George’s face. Instead, he kept his eyes lowered.

 

     “Yeah. I don’t-, that’s what happened. I don’t have anything to defend.”

 

     It was quiet for a moment, and Levi couldn’t really tell what his boss was thinking, since he still refused to look up. It seemed a like at least five minutes, but it was probably only a few seconds, before George sighed.

 

     "You can’t do this, Levi. But it’s a good think you fainted here in the hospital instead of at home. I doubt you would have told anyone about it.”

 

At this, Levi looked up, a little confused. George passed him his file, and Levi took it, adjusting his glasses before reading it.

 

     “Anemia?”

 

George nodded, taking the file back.

 

   “Vitamin deficiency anemia. Folate deficiency anemia, to be exact. Vitamin B-9. What the hell have you been eating for this past week?”

 

     Levi tried to think back to the last time he had had anything to eat that hadn’t come out a vending machine and frowned. His hours were crazy, and he spent more time in the hospital than he did at home. George rolled his eyes, getting the hint.

   “Folate is found mainly in fruits and leafy green vegetables. A diet lacking in these foods can lead to a deficiency. You’re not taking any anti-seizure medication, so I doubt it’s an absorption issue. You’re not taking care of yourself.”

 

     Levi twiddled with his thumbs, feeling guilty. He had done this to himself, really. There was no need for this to have happened, he was just so preoccupied with work and… other things.  Vitamin deficiency anemia occurs when a body doesn't have enough of the vitamins needed to produce adequate numbers of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells were important.

 

     “It explains your symptoms, the fatigue, the dizziness. It also didn’t help that you’re dehydrated. You could have been trouble, Levi. You need at least  400 mcg of folate a day. Your levels are seriously low. I’m going to recommend you start eating a _healthy_ diet and taking folic acid supplements. We’ve already given you a folic acid injection to get you started, but you’ll need to take the supplements until your body's level of folate increases to normal. We’ve also given you two saline bag’s worth of fluids.”

  
  


Levi felt dizzy with relief. At least he knew what was going on, and he could start getting help for it.

 

     “This is still unacceptable behavior, Levi. You’re putting patients at risk doing this. One sleep up because you haven’t slept in 48 hours could lead to someone getting killed or maimed. This doesn’t just affect you.”

 

     Levi’s face burned in embarrassment. everything was true. He had read horror stories about sleeping surgeons who accidentally left instruments in body cavities, people having allergic reactions or dying of an overdose because a doctor prescribe the wrong medication or dose.

 

George must have noticed Levi’s distress, because he lightened his tone.

 

   “Listen Levi, you scared the crap outta everyone. We just want what’s best for you. You need to start wanting that, too.”

 

With that, George stood up and closed Levi’s file.

 

     “You’ll be discharged as soon as your saline bag empties. Shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes. After that, go home. I mean it. I’ll escort you myself if I have to.”

 

Levi nodded solemnly.

 

      “You’ve only been asleep for about three hours, so get some rest. I’ve changed your schedule so you’re not due to come in for the next two days. If I so much as see you set a foot in this hospital unless it’s a code, I’ll have you suspended for a week.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

     With that, George walked out of the room, leaving Levi alone. He vaguely contemplated calling his mother, since he lived in her basement and all, but he didn’t think it would be a good idea. She was already overprotective, so telling her that he had collapsed at work wouldn’t be the best thing in the world. He figured he could sneak into the basement without her noticing and sleep for a couple hours. If he could get to sleep, that it. The three-hour nap he had just had left him feeling surprisingly refreshed, and the chewing out he had just gotten spiked his adrenaline. Was he was certain he could get up and work for a couple hours. But then again, George had made it clear that he was to get home as soon as possible.

 

     It was quiet for a moment, only the soft beeping of the monitor to his side and the slight dripping coming from the saline drip the only sounds keeping him company. He heard footsteps outside of the door and looked up from the bed, expecting Ruth again, or maybe Taryn and Casey to show up, to make fun of him. But it wasn’t. It was Nico.

 

_Great._

 

     Nico looked at Levi with the same smug confidence he always did. It was if their encounter in the closet hadn’t happened. Gone was the tensed, scared man. Back in his place was the guy who _annoyed the crap_ out of Levi.

 

     “How you doing?”

 

 Levi tried to play it cool. He shrugged.

 

“B-9 anemia. They’re sending me home.”

 

     Nico casually slinked into the room and walked over to Levi’s bed, sitting down on the side of it.

 

“I’ll take you home.”

 

  Levi felt his face flush. Did Nico think he wasn’t capable of going home by himself? He had made this far, hadn’t he?

 

“I can drive home myself.”

 

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Taryn said you take three buses to get here.”

 

    “I can Uber.”

 

Nico rolled his eyes.

 

    “Don’t waste your money. Let me drive you. It’ll be on my way anyways.”

 

“How do you know where I live?”

 

   As if on cue, Levi gazed over Nico’s shoulder and looked out into the hallway. Nurse Ruth was standing there. She winked at him from the hallway and Levi frowned in her direction. He turned his attention back to Nico.

 

“The nurses?”

 

     Nico nodded, “The nurses know everything.”

 

     Levi thought about Nico’s proposal. He did live an hour away by bus at least, and given at the rate that he had been going at today, he’d probably fall asleep on the bus and miss the transfer. Then he’d be confused, sleepy, and lost. And if it was really was on the way…

 

“Or you could just come to my place.”

 

This drew Levi’s attention from his thoughts. He cleared his throat nervously.

 

“W-what?”

 

     Nico looked as cool as a cucumber, as usual.

 

“My place is closer. You can shower and sleep over for a couple of hours until you feel up to treking home.”

 

Levi frowned.

 

     “I thought you said I was on the way?’

 

Nico shrugged, not really giving an answer.

 

     Levi sighed. Nico didn’t seem like he was going to give up, and Levi really didn’t feel like taking the bus or risk the embarrassment of falling asleep in an Uber.

 

“Alright.”

 

At that moment, a hospital administrator walked in, wheeling a computer on a cart, followed by Ruth. The administrator smiled pleasantly.

 

    “Ready to be discharged?”

 

“As soon as I take the IV out,” Ruth added helpfully.

 

    Levi looked at Nico, who gazed at him for a long moment, his face unreadable. He then stood up.

 

“I’ll go ask Casey to get your stuff and meet you in the parking lot.”

 

    Levi nodded wordlessly and Nico walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, Levi's going to Nico's place. hehe.
> 
> Anyways, I'm in Africa! I was originally in one part of Africa, but DWB sent a bunch of people (including me) to deal with the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. Then I was in Zimbabwe, in the Chimanimani District dealing with trauma injuries. I'm actually at an internet cafe in Mutare on my one free day, using my laptop with my neat little VPN paying 3,000 ZWB (that's about US $10) for an hour of internet I've already answered all my emails and contacted my family and such, and I still have 20 minutes. I figured, hey, the chapter is already done and I have some free time. After this I'm gonna go on Reddit! 
> 
> Things suck here, not going to lie. I mean, they suck. This cyclone just DESTROYED this place. The area I was at before didn't have running water or power, and it's been very difficult to provide the proper amount of care. It's exhausting, demanding work. We're making so much of so little. I saw a mother carry her child nearly 30 miles on her back to get a measles vaccine. We have the haul buckets of water from a spout half a mile from the village. It sucks majorly, but I'm glad I'm here. I don't regret anything. Things are going to be weird when I get back, but for right now I've got to make the most of my time here and help as many people as possible. Yeet.
> 
> Look at me, posting chapter counts like a fool.
> 
> This is, like, my only free day for the next month or so. I might update in a couple of weeks, depending on where I'm at. If I'm still in Zimbabwe I can u[date sooner, but it really depends.
> 
> If you can, I'd recommend donating to DWB. We're doing great work, needed work. Here's the link:
> 
> https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.cfm
> 
>  
> 
> Okay, I have like 10 minutes left on the internet, so I'm gonna go lurk on Reddit! Hope you enjoyed, and keep an eye out for a chapter in 2-4 weeks! 
> 
> Cheers,  
> rlb190


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very brief update! Excuse the formatting and errors, I’m still in Africa with DWB and another cyclone just hit. We’re still triaging people and things have been nuts. Still wanted to update, though lol I have my priorities in order.
> 
>  
> 
> I’ll try to update again in a few weeks with a longer chapter! Until then, enjoy :)

    Levi could barely remember the ride home. After he was discharged, Nico was in the parking lot where he promised, and the moment Levi sat down, he fell asleep.

 

    It wasn’t until about 15 minutes later that Nico was gently shaking Levi awake and leading him up a flight of stairs to Nico’s apartment.

 

    Levi showered, and when he was done, he found that Nico had set out an old t-shirt and sweatpants for Levi, who changed into them. He smelled something in the air, and soon wandered into Nico’s kitchen.

 

    Nico had a kitchen towel slung across his shoulder and was plating was looked scrambled eggs onto two pieces of toast.

 

Levi looked questioningly at him.

 

    “Thought you might be hungry. You clothes are in the washer. My turn.”

 

     Without saying anything else, Nico dropped the pan into the sink and disappeared down the hall to the bathroom.

 

Well, this was awkward. 

 

     Levi ate the eggs and toast, his stomach protesting after being empty for so long, but he did feel better after, his nausea slowly disappearing. He then did the dishes, which he figured it was the least he could do. Levi probably would have cleaned up more if the place already wasn’t spotless. Nico’s apartment was sleek and minimalistic. After doing the dishes, Levi walked around. There were a couple of bookshelves with medical textbooks and some novels, a bowl of some sort of decorative something on a coffee table, but that was pretty much it. There weren’t any pictures hanging on the walls, no personal effects. There was almost no sign anyone was living there expect for a key hanging from a hook on the wall and a jacket thrown over a chair. Not that Levi was snooping or anything. Because he wasn’t.

 

Right.

 

    Levi stood by the island counter, not really sure about what to do. Should he sit down on the couch? Could he take a nap, or should he wait for the laundry to be done, change quickly and excuse himself? Maybe he should ask Nico about his dad, but something told Levi that the whole father subject was off limits.

 

    Levi decided eventually to just sit down on the couch, pulling his legs up close to his chest and leaning on the arm chair. Was this couch just decorative? Nico seemed like the kind of guy to have a couch just for decoration.

 

    Levi closed his eyes, not really caring that his glasses were still on his face. He was too tired to keep his eyes open. He listened quietly for the sounds around him. He could hear the light spray from Nico’s shower down the hall. There were some birds chirping outside. There was a quiet whirring from an air conditioner. Levi was tired, and he felt so comfortable here, probably more comfortable than he should have been. It wasn’t long before he felt himself drifting off to sleep.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s kind of what I imagine Nico’s place would look like. Very sleek and minimalistic. Idk i just get that vibe from him.
> 
>  
> 
> http://www.brittsbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/open-kitchen-interior-design-ideas-lovable-for-best-7-728x485.jpeg


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am very drunk while posting this. It's short. enjoyyyyy

     George O’Malley was fuming. He had given very strict orders to an intern to get some rest, and then the kid had to go off and do his own thing, confront a potential security risk, and pass out.

 

He shook his head. Levi had a lot of heart. Maybe that was the problem. Levi had seemed so eager, so willing, it was like he was trying to prove something. George snorted to himself. 

 

_      No use in proving something when you might kill someone while doing it. _

 

George had finally tossed the last file from the bridge collapse in the bin when the phone rang at the nurse’s station. George felt his heart drop into his stomach, suddenly feeling like things were going to go to shit again.

 

     He looked around for an intern and spotted  Dahlia standing in the corner, talking to one of the nurses. George recalled seeing her earlier during the ruckus, still in her nice outfit. But she had changed since then, and was now wearing scrubs and a less intricate headscarf than the one she had been wearing before, which most likely had been ruined by blood and other bodily fluids She had removed her makeup, revealing dark bags under her eyes. Despite the weariness that seemed to be creeping in on her, she was smiling as she talked, laughing at something George couldn’t quite hear.

 

George walked up to her, and the nurse cut her a look before walking away Dahlia looked nervous.

 

      “Dahlia, you’re with me for trauma.”

 

The poor girl looked a little confused.

 

     “Trauma? But-,”

 

As if on cue, the nurse who had been on the phone at the nurse’s station looked over the counter and yelled;

 

     “Trauma coming in hot!”

 

George looked back at Dahlia who looked surprised but nodded anyways. George helped her pull on a yellow cover and tied it for her, and she did the same for him. They had barely gotten their covers on before the ambulance bay doors crashed open.

 

     A man was laying on the stretcher, completely unconscious. His head was bleeding massively. George and Dahlia quickly rushed the man over to an open bed, talking as they hefted him from the ambulance stretcher to the ER bed.

 

“Thirty year old male, wandered into the road and was struck by a car. His head bounced off the window and shattered it. He was launched about 32 feet from where he was struck. He was completely unconscious when we found him. His ID say his name is Lester.”

 

      “Alright, let’s tube him up. I want a CT and an x-ray- Dahlia, call it in, we’re going up to CT.”

 

Dahlia moved to do so, when suddenly the man sat up as quick as a bullet. He looked at the EMTs and the doctors for a moment, blinked, and then leaned over the side of the gurney and vomited all over the floor, including George and Dahila’s shoes.

 

      One of the EMT’s gagged at the smell of it. It was obviously beer. 

 

“He doesn't have a head injury. He’s drunk.”

 

     George sighed.

 

“Okay. We’re still going o bring him in for a CT after an assessment. Want to give it a shot?”

 

     Dahlia nodded and pulled on a fresh pair of non-vomit covered gloves. She started at the head, which was still bleeding. She furrowed her brows after a few minutes.

 

“I count- 9, 10? 10 separate lacerations on his scalp.”

 

     “What are you going to do about it?”

 

Dahlia thought for second before moving over to a tray behind her and pulling out a roll of gauze. She began to wrap it around the man’s head in a sort of makeshift turban.

 

     “This should work for now, at least until we get the CT.”

 

She looked at George who nodded, encouraging her. He probably would have done the same thing. He watched quietly as Dahlia went lower during her assessment, gently prodding and pushing at the man’s ribs, arms, and legs.

 

      “He doesn’t have any broken bones or any other serious injuries. I’d still take an x-ray just in case. His vitals are pretty standard,” she sniffed the air and lifted up one of her sneakers, which squished in the vomit grotesquely. 

 

“And perhaps draw some blood for lab work as well.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Levi woke up, he was strangely comfortable.

 

Not that he hadn’t been comfortable before, but this… this was ultra-level comfort. He blinked, trying to figure out where we was. He felt warm and fuzzy, like a cat that had taken a nap in the midday sun.

 

     He tried to feel around him, trying to figure out where he was. He wasn't on the couch anymore, he was on a bed, laying on his left side. He gently stretched his feet and cracked his toes. Man, he was comfortable. He could drift back off to sleep at this rate…

 

     Wait.

 

There was someone in front of him, a figure. He could barely make out the details of a face. And this person was very close.

 

It took him a moment to realize that he didn’t have his glasses on, and he squinted.

 

_ Oh come on! _

 

     It was Nico Kim. Levi’s first instinct was to fumble for his glasses and get the _heck_ out of there, but for some reason, he didn’t. He could tell by his counterpart’s breathing that he was asleep. No use in waking him up, right?

 

    Instead, Levi delicately reached behind him to grab his glasses off the bedside table. He shoved them on his face lackluster-lessly and took in the whole scene. He was definitely in Nico’s bed. He vaguely recalled being lead there in the haze of sleep by Nico.

 

Nico. _God_ , Nico.

 

He was laying there, facing Levi. But there was something different about him. He looked a lot more peaceful than he did awake. His eyebrows weren't furrowed as deeply as there were usually. He looked better when he didn’t frown. Not that he didn't look bad when he did frown.

 

Before Levi could realize what he was doing, he was already reaching out a hand to touch Nico’s face.

 

* * *

 

    George was sitting the break room, one hand on his phone, the other tightly gripped onto a cup of coffee. He was busy reading the news (seven years in the middle of special ops missions tended to leave you out of the loop, you know) when Dahlia walked in, holding a file.

 

“Hey, our guy who spewed chunks?”

 

   George tore his eyes away from his phone, not really wanting to interrupt his reading but feeling compelled to look up anyways.

 

“CT ruled out brain injuries. His blood work came back. He was something like five times over the legal limit. I had to go through two stapling devices to staple all of his lacerations closed. It took almost an hour!”

 

   George couldn’t help but smile.

 

_ “fi alta'aniy alsalamat, wafi aleajalat alnadama.” _

 

Dahlia blinked, as if she was comprehending what George had said.

 

   “You know Arabic?”

 

George shrugged.

 

    “In caution, there is safety; in haste, repentance. I spent nearly seven years in the middle east. You pick up a few things.”

 

Dahlia made a face like she wasn’t sure about how to feel.

 

     “You have better accent than I do. Anyways,” she went on, “I gave him a couple of IV’s and sent him on his way. He’s lucky he didn’t hurt himself or someone else.”

 

George sipped his coffee and hummed in mutual agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo all! I am very drunk right now off this wonderful local drink to Tanzania called konyagi. I have no idea what the heck is gooing on . Maybe I'll look at this later and delete the watever but I'm having a great time right noweeeee yay
> 
> I met a couple of local who taught me في التأني السلامة, وفي العجلة الندامة which is like basically saying 'don't rush it, b" sooooo I thought I'd add it in. I'm off for today and tomorrow and then it's back to the grindstone. We're trying to recover from various typhooms and such, plus I had to do surgery on this kid who fell off a cliff tripping over some sheep. No kidding. One last chapter! It's gonna be a big one. Also, i barely have internet here so don't spoil the finale for me in the comments plsssss. GA is actually really big here, not shoit...
> 
>  
> 
> anyways enjoy and i'll see you whjen i'm not struggling to type this out right no9w :D ;D :D\
> 
>  
> 
> I JUSR WANT LEVI AND NICO RO BE TOGETHER BRUH I WANTA TO BE HAPPYYYYY

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! Merry Christmas y'all. Okay so I didn't know if it'd be super lame and too doctor-y of me to name this "Comminuted Fracture". Fun fact, it's actually break or splinter of the bone into more than two fragments. It occurs only after high-impact trauma, like getting hit by a car. It's also not (usually) treatable by just a cast. It involved surgery and putting the pieces back together. But sometimes you can't find all the pieces, or they're too small. So you leave spaces. Or try and find a way to patch them up the best you can.
> 
> heh.
> 
> I am so freaking tired right now. I just came off my 16 hour shift and I'm about to do another one in a hot second. Be sure to say thank you to medical professionals who work over the holidays, because that's when the stupid comes out. I have so many stories of just the past 16 hours. Who manages to deep fry their hand? Who??????
> 
> I'm actually a forensic pathologist intern (hopefully resident soon!) at my hospital but I actually completed another internship in trauma and I have all these certificates so I was in the ER all today (yesterday? what year is it?) because we were short staffed cause of Christmas, and being int he ER has once again confirmed my bias towards dead people. Everything right now is a fever dream surrounding fictional, way more attractive doctors.
> 
> Idk if GSMH would do the medical band thing, but when I was doing this doctors without borders thing I saw a hospital do it after a rather large causality incident do this and it seemed to work really well, and I'm just guessing after the whole internet-shutdown thing they might want to do something physical to designate patient in a code yellow event. I'm just gonna stick with it.
> 
> Here's a little lesson in codes. My hospital follows codes that were introduced in 2010 by a South Carolina hospital in attempt to sort of generalize them so all codes would mean the same in hospitals. Like a standard language. Here's what we use;
> 
> Amber alert: infant/child abduction  
> Code blue: heart or respiration stops ( adult or child)  
> Code clear: announced when emergency is over  
> Code grey: combative person (combative or abusive behavior). If it's a combative person/situation with a weapon, we call a code silver.  
> Code orange: hazardous spills (a hazardous material spill; unsafe exposure)  
> Code pink: infant abduction (this is what we use internally, mostly when a parent takes newborn without the other one's permission or knowledge. This info gets turned into the police and that when we call an amber alert)  
> Code red: fire  
> Code silver: weapon or hostage situation (as mentioned above)
> 
> We also use 'doctor codes' which is like a whole other secret thing so that when it's said over the system it won't cause panic. The doctor's "name" is a code word for a dangerous situation. Like "paging doctor hazmat, fourth floor". That would mean possible chemical spill on fourth floor or whatever. I'm not allowed to really say what ours are. #topsecret
> 
> Okay, this is getting long enough. I'm just gonna take a shower and watch some soap opera before I go back to work. Because I do not sleep. I merely wait.
> 
> Blegh,  
> rlb190


End file.
